Expert Opinions & Stories

Armenia's unique landscape is often at the brunt of seismic challenges. This has presented the Government the opportunity to implement a variety of urban development strategies tailored to its…

Asia and the Pacific is home to 54 per cent of the world's urban population, who are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (ESCAP, 2023; IPCC, 2022). Why then, do climate…

Digital innovation and technology have become an integral part of the way governments, businesses and individuals function, transforming the speed and efficiency of communication, service delivery…

The world is undergoing an unprecedented urban transformation, with nearly 68 per cent expected to reside in urban areas by 2050. This global trend brings both promise and a significant…

Many nations are engaged in ambitious urban planning endeavors and the creation of new capital cities. Nusantara, Indonesia, is the latest in a series of modern cities that have sprung up across Asia…

The Pacific Islands region is renowned for its pristine beaches, vibrant marine life, and unique cultural heritage. However, as the world progresses towards 2050, our Pacific paradise is encountering…

In a few days, global leaders will gather at UN headquarters in New York to make certain we recognize the value of water, appreciate its vitality to life and embrace a visionary Water Action Agenda…

Where would you feel safer walking alone at night? A busy street, or a loosely populated section of a sprawling city? Most people would likely choose the former. Indeed, higher population densities…

Ending poverty in all its forms is the first of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While significant progress to reduce poverty had been made at the global and regional levels by 2019, the…

On bikes and on foot, with trikes, pushcarts and more, informal waste pickers are an active and persistent feature of waste management systems across the Asia-Pacific region. Daily waste pickers make…

Not far from downtown Bangkok is the district with the largest number of COVID-19 infections in the latest wave of the pandemic. In April, slum dwellers accounted for two thirds of all infections,…

As the world enters its second year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus has shifted from containing the spread of the disease towards recovering from socio-economic disruptions. COVID-19…

The proliferation of plastic in our society is hitting extreme levels that should be of concern to all nations. According to recent research by Plastics Europe, we produce around 359 million tonnes…

Air pollution has become a serious environmental and health issue in Thailand. The pollution levels in the country follow predictable patterns, which highlight the presence of a peak pollution season…

Why are cities vital to support a green recovery from COVID-19? Urban areas are critical for both the global and local environment. They constitute the most significant source of GHG emissions,…

What’s the recipe for cooking up outstanding policies? Policy practitioners the world over have strived to get the right people in the room and stay abreast of the latest research.

In Bhutan, an…

After decades of impressive growth, for the first time, Southeast Asia is experiencing a drop in measured human development. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic will likely take months…

Our lives are anchored to the ocean in Asia and the Pacific. Yet, if we drift with the currents, we can wave goodbye to the ocean we know and love. Here are five reasons why we need to speed up our…

Humans are intrinsically connected to the natural environment. This fundamental truth has been neglected by the way we conceive our development choices and we implement policies. The COVID-19…

As the world’s sixth largest economic market, the ASEAN bloc has significant potential to drive growth. By 2030, the bloc aims to become the fourth-largest economy, and with the world’s third-largest…